iwanuma no shitahau ashi no ne o shigemi himanaki koi o kimi shirurame ya
Silently beneath the marsh rocks Creep the reeds’ Roots in such profusion, Not a space free from love, but Does my lady know, I wonder?
A Court Lady 53
Right
身をつみて思ひや知るとこころみにながためつらき人もあらなん
mi o tsumite omoi ya shiru to kokoromi ni na ga tame tsuraki hito mo aranan
Pinching flesh, Would you know passion’s fire? To test it, I wish For you there was a cruel One, too…
Lord Masakane 54
Toshiyori states: the first poem is extremely charming. It seems to have no faults to mention. In the second poem, ‘For you there was a cruel one’ would be something quite impolite if said by a woman. Court ladies may lose their composure, yet they still appear to speak with dignity. In the absence of a prior poem as precedent, the first poem should win, I think.
Mototoshi states: this poem seems to have no faults to mention, and of the two, ‘beneath creep the reeds’ seems a bit more gently refined at present.
kimi shi nao kaku shi kayowaba isonokami furuki miyako mo furiji to zo omou
O, my Lady, Should you thus ever visit Isonokami, where at Furu, the ancient capital, too, Never stales, I feel![1]
Mitsune 22
Left (Win)
かよふともしられじものをふるさとはかすがのやまのふもとならねば
kayou tomo shirareji mono o furusato wa kasuga no yama no fumoto naraneba
To ever visit there is something Folk might not know, for The ancient capital Among Kasuga Mountain’s Foothills does not lie…
23
Right
はるごとにきてはみるともいそのかみふりにしさとのなにはかはらじ
haru goto ni kite wa miru tomo isonokami furinishi sato no nani wa kawaraji
Every single spring I come to gaze, yet At Isonokami, Furu’s ancient capital Does nothing ever change?
24
[1] A variant of this poem occurs in Mitsune’s personal collection: When the Priestly Emperor’s Rokujō Lady of the Bedchamber visited Kasuga, I met and conversed with Lord Tadafusa, the Governor of Yamato, and he mentioned that he had been asked to compose eight quality poems in the name of his province, so I sent him two of my own. The date was the 7th day of the Third Month, Engi 21 [17.4.921]. きくになほかくしかよはばいそのかみふるきみやこもふりしとぞおもふ kiku ni nao / kaku shi kayowaba / isonokami / furuki Miyako mo / furishi to zo omou ‘O, I hear that / Should you ever thus visit / Isonokami, where at / Furu, the ancient capital, too, / Has grown old, I feel.’(Mitsune-shū 323)
furusato ni saku to wabitsuru sakurabana kotoshi zo kimi ni mienuberanaru
In the ancient capital In lonely sadness bloom The cherry blossoms, that This year, my Lady Has been able to behold. [1]
13
Left
ふるさととおもひなわびそさくらばなほかのいろにもおとらざりけり
furusato to omoi na wabi so sakurabana hoka no iro ni mo otorazarikeri
That ‘tis an ancient place Think not so sadly! For the cherry blossoms To any other hues Are not inferior at all!
14
Right (Win)
見そめずもあらましものをふるさとのはなにこころのうつりぬるかな
misomezu mo aramashi mono o furusato no hana ni kokoro no utsurinuru kana
They would not first catch they eye One would have thought, but The ancient capital’s Blossoms in the heart Do linger! [2]
15
[1] SIS XVI: 1045 Headnote ‘Among the many poems presented by provincial officials, when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited Kasuga.’
[2] Variants of this poem attributed to Ise, appear in both Ise-shū みそめずもあらましものをからころもたつなのみしてきるよなきかな misomezu mo / aramashi mono o / karakoromo / tatsu na nomi shite / kiru yo naki kana ‘It would not first catch the eye / One would have thought, but / A Cathay robe / Is singly remarkable in name / Though it is worn on nights not a one!’(230) and Shokugoshūishū みそめずはあらましものを山ふかみ花に心のとまりぬるかな misomezu wa / aramashi mono o / yama fukami / hana ni kokoro no / tomarinuru kana ‘They would not first catch the eye / One would have thought, but / Deep within the mountains / The blossoms in the heart / Have halted!’(II: 99)
